Word magic.
One of my students told me she was in first draft hell. She said: “I’ve got three novels, all first drafts. How do I turn them into something publishable? Maybe I should just delete them.” No, I assured her. DO NOT delete anything. In fact, kudos to you for a lot of brain power, effort, and just plain work. Look … Read more
I love writing serial fiction and recommend this format for authors who are short of writing time. A novel requires a serious time commitment; one you can’t make if your life is full. Consider that readers are busy too. They often prefer snack-sized fiction. Serial fiction for the win: write and publish shorties I refer to snack-sized fiction such as … Read more
When you write fiction, beginning each new novel is a fresh challenge because you’re starting from nothing. Your blank computer screen can be terrifying. One of my writing students called me in a panic. “I haven’t written anything new in four months! What do I do? I need to create a publishing schedule.” She’d become so involved with marketing her … Read more
Here’s a popular question about writing short stories: “how do I get ideas for them?” Although the usual answer is “you can find ideas anywhere”, this isn’t helpful. Of course, ideas are everywhere, but you want ideas which fit the form. Authors expect that there’s a trick to finding these ideas. As far as I’m aware, there’s no “trick” as … Read more
